Rock Valley says 'not now' to Mendelssohn's downtown alliance

ROCKFORD — Rock Valley College is taking a pass, for now, on Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center’s proposal to establish an arts education and performance center at its downtown campus.

Isaac Guerrero

ROCKFORD — Rock Valley College is taking a pass, for now, on Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center’s proposal to establish an arts education and performance center at its downtown campus.

Mendelssohn was established nearly 130 years ago by Rockford socialites who staged music performances in their houses. It has become an umbrella of musical offerings, including Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra, Mendelssohn Chorale, and the folk and world-music performance series known as Charlotte’s Web.

Director Beverly Broyles asked Rock Valley trustees in July to help her establish a hub for music instruction and performance at its trio of downtown buildings: The Starr Center, 415 N. Church St.; Emerson House, 420 N. Main St.; and the former First Presbyterian Church, 406 N. Main St.

Trustee Randy Schaefer has since toured the Mendelssohn campus, telling the RVC Facilities Committee that the property would require considerable renovation to suit the college’s needs.
“It just feasibly won’t work unless we sink all kinds of money into it,” he said Monday.

College trustees have discussed the pros and cons for more than a year of expanding RVC’s downtown presence, which amounts to remedial education courses and counseling services at Stewart Square, 308 W. State St.

The satellite office may move next year to Rockford Public Library, 215 N. Wyman St. But student scheduling and transportation pose obstacles to any downtown curriculum expansion because most RVC students are at the main campus, 3301 N. Mulford Road. It’s there, in northeast Rockford, where trustees’ attention is fixed: plans are underway for more than $50 million in campus building renovations and expansions.

Broyles, contacted after the meeting, said she’s still hopeful that Mendelssohn can forge a relationship with RVC: “Our offer to partner is still out there. If not a real estate investment, perhaps we can collaborate on programming.”

Mendelssohn could, she said, establish a work residency program with the college to give students a taste of what a music profession is like. Even something as simple as a music performance collaboration would be a fine first step.